Ravi Shastri, Team India head coach on Saturday labelled the World Test Championship (WTC) as the ‘big daddy’ of all World Cups. He also said that the longest format is a real challenge for a player. Ravi Shastri’s comments came ahead of the start of the WTC final against New Zealand.
Ravi Shastri has been head coach since July 2017 and under him, India has managed back-to-back wins in the Test series in Australia and advanced to the final of the World Test Championship.
Ravi Shastri: WTC Final Is The Big Daddy Of All World Cups
Former cricketer and the current head coach of India’s men’s team, Ravi Shastri was a member of the 1983 squad which lifted the ODI World Cup for India for the first time ever. The former all-rounder played 80 Tests and 150 ODIs between 1981 and 1992.
“It’s the ‘big daddy of all World Cups’. I’ve played the 1983 World Cup, commentated on a few of them but this one is the biggest of them all. It’s the toughest format, the biggest format, and the job satisfaction is maximum.
“There are a lot of big players who’ve not got their hands on a World Cup, so playing in a big final is always special. To keep the team at number one for five years is a massive achievement,” Shastri told host broadcaster Star Sports.
Ravi Shastri stands tall among all the head coaches in the longer format. Out of the 46 Tests India played under him, the team won 28. The winning percentage is 60.87.
Going into the WTC final, New Zealand holds an advantage as they have played two Tests in England this month. On the other hand, India hasn’t played a red-ball fixture since the home series against England, which took place in February-March. New Zealand holds a 2-0 lead over India in the WTC as they defeated the Virat Kohli-led side in two-match Test series in 2020.
Tom Latham led the New Zealand team to a memorable 1-0 Test series triumph in the two-match series against hosts England, in the absence of injured Kane Williamson, which is their first in the UK since 1999.
Ravi Shastri: Ravindra Jadeja And Ravichandran Ashwin Adds Variety And Bowl Well In Tandem
The confidence of playing with the two spinners in Southampton clearly comes after how well the duo of Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin have batted in recent times while also being effective with the ball even in overseas conditions. Ravi Shastri credited the spinners for adding variety, bowling well in tandem, and complimenting each other really well.
Talking about the team’s plans for the ongoing final, Ravi Shastri said: “On an occasion like this we wanted to get out as quickly as possible. Not really. Unless you would have had another washout today and the game had been reduced to a 2-3 day game, but otherwise with the kind of attack we have, we take the pitch out of the equation.
“On a day like this, it helps the fast bowlers get help, but when the sun comes out the spinners would come into play. Jadeja and Ashwin add that variety and they bowl well in tandem. They have close to 600-700 wickets and complement each other really well.”
New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson won the toss and opted to field first in the much-awaited World Test Championship (WTC) final against India on Saturday. Incessant rain saw the opening day’s play being washed off at the Ageas Bowl on Friday while India managed to score 146/3 before bad light stopped play.
TEAMS:
India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli(c), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant(w), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah.
New Zealand (Playing XI): Tom Latham, Devon Conway, Kane Williamson(c), Ross Taylor, Henry Nicholls, BJ Watling(w), Colin de Grandhomme, Kyle Jamieson, Neil Wagner, Tim Southee, Trent Boult.
India 146 for 3 (Rohit 38, Gill 28, Pujara 8, Rahane 29*, Kohli 44*, Jamieson 1-14, Wagner 1-28, Boult 1-32) vs New Zealand at Stump’s on Day 2